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West Ham United’s damaging 3-0 loss to Brentford was not an encounter short of controversy, from Igor Thiago’s penalty to potentially fortuitous escapes for both Pablo Felipe and Taty Castellanos.
The Hammers endured a miserable afternoon at the Gtech Community Stadium. After the highs of last week’s last-gasp victory over Everton, this was very much back down to earth with an almighty crash for a side who – should Tottenham beat an Aston Villa side potentially distracted by European commitments – will end the weekend back in the Premier League drop zone.
El Hadji Malick Diouf had a nightmare; blamed for Brentford’s 15th minute opener by Matthew Upson and then taking down Dango Ouattara for Igor Thiago’s penalty just after the break.
OUCH! What are your INSTANT reactions to that? 😡
Credit: Getty Images/Adrian Dennis / AFP
At the other end of the field, Pablo Felipe’s goal drought drags on; that is 14 games without one now.
And Taty Castellanos was arguably lucky to avoid a season-ending straight red as the Argentine let frustrations bubble over.
Upson, a West Ham United centre-half from 2007 to 2011, certainly feels that Castellanos got away with what was a late, reckless lunge shortly before he was replaced by Callum Wilson. Potentially, for his own good.
Matthew Upson criticises Craig Pawson during Brentford 3-0 West Ham United 
Photo by Adrian Dennis / AFP via Getty Images
“If that makes a lot of contact, he’d be lucky to be on the pitch, because it’s high,” Upson said on a day when Castellanos really could have doubled his league tally from four to eight.
“That is frustration, that’s a man who’s had four really good chances. Two have hit the post, and West Ham are now 2-0 down.”
It would become three when Mikkel Damsgaard, arguably the game’s outstanding performer, rolled in a cool effort to consign the Hammers to their first three-goal defeat since losing 5-2 at Liverpool on February 28th.
Upson argues that West Ham should have been handed a clear route back into the game before Damsgaard struck, though.
Tomas Soucek denied a clear penalty at the Gtech
Keane Lewis-Potter dragged Tomas Soucek to the ground inside the penalty area at 2-0.
“Look at Lewis-Power’s body shape. He doesn’t know where the ball is at all. All he’s doing is grappling Soucek to the floor,” said a baffled former England international. “It’s in the penalty box. Technically, it should be a foul.”
What did YOU make of the refereeing controversy at Brentford?
No pen on Soucek? Really?
Upson had more sympathy with referee Craig Pawson when Yehor Yarmolyuk send Pablo tumbling after slipping inside his own penalty area.
Pablo, like Taty, later avoided a potential three-match ban when a clumsy challenge received a yellow card despite catching the Brentford player above his ankle.
“I don’t think he comes in with any force, but there’s a bit of a stamp down when it comes into the tackle,” Upson argued. “He’s not really flying into the tackle, but he does catch the top of Yarmolyuk down his shin.
“It’s got to have a bit more force. The contact point and the scale of the tackle is not great, but he’s from a standing position, Pablo. He’s not going to do too much damage because there’s no momentum.”
A straight red for either player would have seen Castellanos and Pablo miss the final three matches of the Premier League campaign. In the latter’s case – arguably his least effective performance in a West Ham shirt yet – one suspects he would not be missed by too many in the away end at the Gtech.
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